Feds bust phony CDL scheme

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said indictments were unsealed Aug. 19 for Vitaliy Kroshnev, 48, and Tatyana Kroshnev, 45, both of Richboro; Leonid Vilchik, 63, Irina Peterson, 37, and Tair Rustamov, 44, all of Philadelphia; Iryna Starovoyt, 45, of Warrington; Khrystyna Davyda, 25, and Viktor Davyda, 18, both of Holland, and Mikhail Aminov, 44, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

The defendants were operating under the auspices of the Kroshnevs’ business, International Training Academy. They allegedly arranged for hundreds of non-Pennsylvania residents to fraudulently obtain Pennsylvania CDLs from 2007-2010.

They are charged with providing applicants with false Pennsylvania residency documents and foreign language interpreters who gave applicants the answers to the written CDL permit test. Vitaliy Kroshnev additionally is charged with making a materially false statement, and Khyrstyna Davyda also is charged with making a false statement to a bank.

The defendants could face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and
a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. Defendants Vitaliy Kroshnev and Khrystyna Davyda face an additional 5 years and 30 years, respectively, on false statement charges.